History, 18th Century

The idea that putrefaction of the stools causes disease, i.e., intestinal autointoxication, originated with physicians in ancient Egypt. They believed that a putrefactive principle associated with feces was absorbed in to the general circulation, where it acted to produce fever and pus. This description of the materia peccans represented the earliest forerunner of our present notion of endotoxin and its effect.

It is remarkable that the famous ÈcorchÈs of HonorÈ Fragonard have survived the centuries to reach us today. Studies carried out by several teams have established details of the technique used by Fragonard that help to explain their longevity. The injection of the vessels was achieved by means of a mixture of mutton tallow and pine resin diluted in essence of turpentine and essential oils. This gave Fragonard a very high success rate. Above all, he did not add pigments to his mixture while injecting the veins, and this facilitated the procedure.

To elucidate the impact of diet on age-at-death determinations based on molar attrition a comparison was made between the established rate of attrition in three populations; a pre-mediaeval (British), a late mediaeval (Dutch) and a 17-18th century (Dutch) (western European). It appeared that the rate decreased dramatically during the overall time span and that this change was probably diet related and owing to the coarseness of foodstuffs.

In millennia past, and until recently, among hunter-gatherers and like populations, in all populations, in measure, down through the ages, the securing of sufficient food was life's primary purpose. Virtually all people were physically very active during early life and later in their everyday occupations.

The Journals of Gerontology. Series A, Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences

The search for longevity is hardly new. Before recent times, advocates for longevity fell into two general time periods. From the 16th century to the 18th century, individuals worked to extend the lives and vitality of elderly people; they believed senescence was a time of considerable worth. From the 19th century through the early 20th century, however, anti-age advocates generally depicted old age as a time to be feared and despised, devising myriad procedures in order to eliminate it entirely.

The goal of the investigation was studying Georgian medicinal manuscripts of X-XVIII centuries in order to find out ideas of ancient authors regarding peculiarities of healthy lifestyle from the moment of birth till the elderly age. Results of analysis of Georgian medieval medicinal manuscripts allow us to conclude, that Caucasian longevity is determined not only by genetic, ecological, social and hygiene factors, but also by rational diet, proper treatment, remedies of plant origin and healthy lifestyle, existing in Caucasian cultural anthropology.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and Other Motor Neuron Disorders: Official Publication of the World Federation of Neurology, Research Group on Motor Neuron Diseases

El Escorial, a magnificent palace-monastery in central Spain, was the setting in 1990 for a meeting of ALS experts who developed a consensus document called the El Escorial ALS Diagnostic Criteria. El Escorial was originally conceived by the Spanish Habsburg monarch, Philip II (1527-1598), as an elaborate burial place for his parents, Emperor Charles V and Isabella. It soon became a symbol of the Spanish empire and Philip's Catholic leadership of the Counter-Reformation. El Escorial included a monastery, palace, basilica, mausoleum, seminary, library, and hospital.

The growth of the city's population, rapid advances in medical science, the increasing understanding of the importance of hygiene and, finally, the demand for health care led to the erection of a modern 353-bed municipal hospital complex at Pommerensdorf, Apfelallee, which was officially opened in 1879. From the very beginning of its existence, the municipal hospital was constantly in the process of extension and rebuilding. A hospital base was set up and new departments and clinics were opened. In 1937, the number of the hospital beds had increased to 1,004.